Al-Mawrid
Al-Mawrid is an Islamic research institute in Lahore, Pakistan founded in 1983 and then re-established in 1991. Introduction The institute with its sister organization "Danish Sara" was established by Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, a well-known Pakistani Islamic scholar, who has been inspired by Amin Ahsan Islahi and Hamiduddin Farahi. The institute conducts and facilitates academic and research work on Islamic Law, educates people on its basis, and publishes and disseminates it through electronic and print media. The institute also arranges different seminars and courses on religious subjects. Organization Taken from http://www.al-mawrid.org/System/default.aspx and http://www.renaissance.com.pk/team.html. Projects Al-Mawrid (1983-87; 1991- ), a privately sponsored institution in Pakistan, is governed by the members of its board. The institution has, inter alia, been engaged in promoting Islamic research and education for more than two decades now. Al-Mawrid was founded on the idea that there is a dire need in the Muslim community for academic, objective, effective and efficient approaches to Islamic education and research. The official website of al-Mawrid explains the reasons for the foundation of this institution. It points out that, in the opinion of the members of al-Mawrid, the message of the Qur’ān and the sunnah has become alien to most Muslims owing to flaws in educational approaches and systems, sectarian biases, and lack of research based on the Qur’an and the sunnah. The main focus in religious seminaries is often on the legal opinions and approaches of various schools and sects instead. Mostly, the selection and interpretation of hadīth is also not done on the basis of the foundational sources. The site then gives the reason for the establishment of this institution: Al-Mawrid has been established to redress and reform this state of affairs. Hence, the objectives of the Institute are to conduct and facilitate academic and research work on Islamic Sciences, to educate people on its basis and to publish and disseminate it through all available means. A brief detail of the current and future projects of the institution is given here: Research Projects Abdus Sattar Ghauri (1935- ) is a Bible scholar and a fellow of al-Mawrid. He has been working on the Bible for the last thirty years now. He is presently working on the Urdu translation of the second edition of his book: The Only Son offered for Sacrifice: Isaac or Ishmael?'' Recently, he finished another one of his numerous ongoing works: Muḥammad Foretold in the Bible by Name. Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (1951- ), a fellow of al-Mawrid, is the founder of this institution, a patron to many of its journals, and a well-known Islamic scholar. He is regarded by many academics as one of the most influential Muslim scholars in Pakistan. In the last 24 years or so, Ghāmidī has done intensive research on various aspects of Islam. Of high legal, social and political import amongst his works are Mīzān (Scale), a treatise on his understanding of Islam, and Burhān (Conclusive Argument), a collection of his critiques on contemporary religious viewpoints. His ongoing annotated translation of the Qur’an, al-Bayān(The Exposition) is indispensable to the understanding of his approach in exegesis. Moiz Amjad (1962- ) is a prolific author and website writer. As a researcher, Amjad is working on a project of Compilation of Comprehensive Ḥadīth Texts. This work is unique in its approach: it consists of the compilation of variant texts of a narrative on a particular topic in seventeen major compilations of the hadīth and then the moulding of these texts into one comprehensive narrative to bring out all possible aspects of consistency, veracity and sound meaning on the basis of traditional and new methods and approaches in historiography and hermeneutics – a much needed task that has never been done before. This study is also fully annotated to indicate the placement of the redacted texts in the proper context vis-à-vis the established foundational sources of Islam. Parts of this academic study, compilation and redaction of the hadīth are regularly published in Urdu and English. Shehzad Saleem (1966- ) is a fellow of al-Mawrid. Apart from numerous other works of scholarly and academic nature in the last 20 years, Saleem has translated most of Ghāmidī’s work into English. These translations include selections from Ghāmidī’s research on law, exegesis and ethics. For the last few years, Saleem has been researching the History of the Qur’ān, a part of which also forms his doctoral dissertation at the University of Wales, UK. His work examines Muslim history pertaining to the revelation, collection and transmission of the Qur’ān. The study also addresses various academic questions (including those raised by the Orientalists and other Western scholars and critics) regarding the completeness of the Qur’ān, variant readings, chronology of its compilation, order of the sūrahs, manuscript studies, and scribal accuracy. Dr.Henna Khan 1962 a Medical Specialist, volunteer working particularly for monthly Renaissance, Studying Islam and Serving Humanity. Asif Iftikhar (1966- ) is a fellow of al-Mawrid and a faculty member of the Lahore(LUMS). In the last 18 years, he has taught graduate and undergraduate courses related to Islam, Islamic languages, management, law, and communication at some of the most prestigious educational institutions both in Pakistan and abroad. At al-Mawrid, he is working on the completion of a comparative study of Jāvēd Aḥmad Ghāmidī and Abū al-A‘lā Mawdūdī in relation to their interpretive approaches and worldviews as applied to the theory of jihād and the state. This work is based on Iftikhar’s Master’s thesis at the McGill University, Canada. He is also a PhD candidate at McGill where his dissertation focus is on the history of Islamic legal development in Pakistan. Literature and Academics ‘Ammār Khān Nāsir (1975- ) is working and supervising work on articles and essays explaining various aspects of Islam, which include a comparative as well as a critical examination of Ghāmidī’s treatise on Islam: Mīzān. Manzūr al-Hasan (1965 - ) is the Director, Literature and Academics. Inter alia, he is presently supervising the transcription of various lectures by Ghāmidī in the form of explanatory articles. Al-Hasan also oversees the editing and formatting of various books published by the al-Mawrid. He is also in charge of a query service. As part of this service, Rafī‘ Muftī (1953- ) and Tālib Muhsin (1959- ), along with others, give answers to questions received through emails, letters and websites. Al-Hasan also supervises English translations of works in the Farāhī school. Currently, Jhangeer Hanif (1977 - ) and Tariq Mahmood Hashmi (1971- ) have been assigned this translation work. Education Al-Mawrid arranges workshops in different cities of Pakistan. The topics cover important religious, philosophical and ethical issues facing Pakistani Muslim society. Teachers include Khalid Zaheer (1958- ), Rafī Muftī, Tālib Muhsin, Samī‘ Muftī (1959- ), Sājid Hamīd (1965- ), Kawkab Shahzād (1963 - ) and Hāfiz Muhammad Ibrāhīm (1968 - ). In various private and national television channels, Jāvēd Ahmad Ghāmidī, Khalid Zaheer, Munīr Ahmad (1958- ), Sājid Hamīd, Kawkab Shahzād and others participate in various talk shows and discussions on Islam. On various occasions, al-Mawrid scholars regularly give talks at institutes, schools, colleges and universities such as Civil Services Academy, National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA), Pakistan Administrative Staff College, LUMS, and the Punjab University. Affiliated Enterprises The website Understanding Islam explains Islam and answers related questions.Two other sites provide visitors with information on the lives and works of Amīn Ahsan Islāhī (1904-1997) and Jāvēd Ahmad Ghāmidī. Khalid Zaheer’s personal website carries his articles and lectures and his answers to various questions. Ham sab dōst is a site for the grooming and entertainment of children. Ishrāq (in Urdu) is the monthly journal of al-Mawrid. Renaissance is an affiliate Islamic journal in English. A wide range of articles and critiques are published in these journals. A da‘wah edition of Ishrāq is also published by al-Mawrid Centre, Karachi. Journals The institution publishes two monthly journals. These journals carry advertisements from small merchants, but also from larger businesses. *Ishraq (Urdu), editor: Javed Ahmed Ghamidi (Fellow Al-Mawrid) *Renaissance (English), editor: Shehzad Saleem (Associate Fellow Al-Mawrid) - the first Islamic e-periodical Websites The institution is running many Islamic websites. Some of these websites have question-answer service and are quite popular over the internet. *renaissance.com.pk - in English *understanding-islam.org - in English *studying-islam.org - (offers online courses) in English *ghamidi.org - in Urdu *humsubdost.org - (for children) in Urdu *serving-humanity.net - (for helping poor) in English *tv-almawrid.org - audio and Video resources Projects Planned for the Future Institute of Islamic Sciences Al-Mawrid plans to set up an institute offering Bachelor’s, Master’s, and, eventually, PhD degrees to students of Islam. Chain of Schools There are plans to set up a chain of schools in Pakistan that groom the children to be well-versed in languages and various sciences and/or humanities and to have high morals and values. In other words, the graduates of such schools should have sound knowledge of modern disciplines and should also be legatees of their religious heritage. In the near future, al-Mawrid plans to found one school in Karachi and one in Lahore. Training Institutes Al-Mawrid has developed short and medium term courses to train teachers for its schools as well as for other schools, colleges and universities. The objective is to drive home the basic message of Islam, address their queries and communicate to them the ethics it teaches. Besides training teachers, there are plans to offer courses to other interested individuals, especially women and children. D. Weekend Schools In order to educate and instruct children of various schools, al-Mawrid plan to offer a weekend school programme. References *Al-mawrid.org in Urdu, Arabic and English External links *Bibliographic Data: Al-Mawrid, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg *Bibliographic Data: Understanding-islam.com, Intute: Arts and Humanity and Intute: Social Sciences, Oxford University *Associated publisher: Dar-ut-Tazkeer Related websites These websites are not established or owned by Al-Mawrid, but contributed to directly by some of its members. * http://www.serving-humanity.net/ Patron: Shehzad Saleem Team Director: Dr.Henna Khan *amin-ahsan-islahi.com - writings of Amin Ahsan Islahi in English. *khalidzaheer.com - website of Dr. Khalid Zaheer *alsharia.org website run by Ammar Nasir